The present invention relates to a bumper for a table game such as pool or billiards and more particularly to such a bumper which can be economically manufactured.
In a table game such as pool, billiards or the like, the horizontal playing area over which the ball may travel has a perimeter defined either substantially or entirely by a bumper defining a resilient cushion. The innermost portion of the cushion is spaced sufficiently above the horizontal playing surface that, when impacted by a ball, it contacts the ball slightly above the horizontal centerline of the ball so that generally the ball does not bounce into the air and off the table (as it might if the contact were below the centerline of the ball). Preferably the cushion has a well-recognized level of resiliency which the skilled player relies upon for some of the more complex shots involving banking of the ball at least once off the cushion and frequently more than once. Generally speaking, the more skilled the player, the more importance is laid on the quality of the cushion.
On the other hand, the formation of the cushion-containing bumper is one of the more labor intensive, and thus more expensive, items in the manufacture of a pool or billiards table. In a conventional table, the cushion is first formed of foam or gum rubber and then secured to a vertically extending inner surface of the rigid wood form which defines the bulk of the table. The rubber and any remaining visible portion of the inner surface of the rigid wood form is then upholstered or covered with a felt or felt-like material which matches, and is preferably part of, the felt or felt-like material disposed on the generally horizontal playing surface. Typically the cushion has a triangular cross section so that more-or-less of a point contact is made with a ball impacting thereon. As the cushion must be able to withstand repeated shocks due to the balls impacting thereon (especially as there may be both vertical and horizontal spins on the impacting balls), great care must be taken in securing the rubber to the wood form and in securing the upholstery to the rubber. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the creation of a bumper for a table game remains to a large degree a manual operation which, because of its time-consuming nature and because it requires the use of skilled labor, contributes substantially to the cost of the table game.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a table game bumper which can be economically manufactured.
Another object is to provide such a bumper which in a preferred embodiment not only appears like a conventional bumper, but produces substantially the same results.